1. Closing the Literacy Gap for ELLs Which model is most effective?
Ashley Martin
Education 7201:Seminar in Applied Theory and Research I
Fall 2010

2. Table of Contents Introduction - Review of the models
Statement of Problem:
Slide 3
Review of Related Literature:
Slides 4, 5, 6, 7
Statement of Hypothesis:
Slide 8
References
Slide 9
¡Hola! Hello!

3. Statement of Problem
To instruct first-grade ELLs at PSX, the school has implemented a side-by-side dual-language setting that separates L1 and L2 literacy development by classroom. For Spanish-speaking students (L1), English proficiency (L2) is below expected levels according to ECLAS-2 results and Fountas & Pinnell reading levels.

4. What’s the Debate?
Reversing the Bilingual Education Act (1968) with NCLB

5. Pro - Native Language Support
Early literacy instruction in a dual-language (Spanish-English) kindergarten.
Culatta & Reese (2006)
Student Spanish use and investment in a dual language immersion classroom: Implications for second language acquisition and heritage language maintenance.
Potowski (2004)
Additional sources that support L1 maintenance as a literacy transfer tool:
Lee & Schallert (1997), Slavin & Cheung (2005), Vaughn et al. (2006), Winsler et al. (1999).

6. Con - No Native Language Support
Dismantling bilingual education implementing English immersion: The California initiative.
Rossell (2002).
Additional sources that cite English-only immersion models as most effective
Helmsley, Holm & Dodd (2006).
Leung, et al. (2010).
Garcia, E. (2007).
States in agreement - California, Arizona, Georgia, Massachusetts

7. Bilingual Education Theorists
James Cummins
Bilingualism and special education: Programs and pedagogical issues (1983).
“students must receive sufficient comprehensible input in the target language while maintaining ties to the native language”
Ofelia Garcia

8. Statement of Hypothesis
HR¹: Use of bilingual small-group literacy instruction in English Classroom A that is implemented two times a week over a four-month period will increase L2 proficiency of Spanish-speaking ELLs in the dual-language program (ECLAS-2, Fountas & Pinnell)
HR²: Bilingual small-group literacy instruction in English Classroom A will yield a greater improvement compared to English Classroom B.

9. References
Carlo, M.S., August, D., McLaughlin, B., Snow, C. E., Dressler, C., Lippman, D., White, C. E. (2004). Closing the gap: Addressing the vocabulary needs of English language learners in bilingual and mainstream classrooms [Electronic Version]. Reading Research Quarterly, 39(2)
Combs, M. C., Evans, C., Fletcher, T., Parra, E., & Jiménez, A. (2005). Bilingualism for the children : Implementing a dual-language program in an English-only state. Educational Policy, 19, doi: /
Culatta, B., Reese, M., & Setzer, L. (2006). Early literacy instruction in a dual-language (Spanish-English) kindergarten. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 27(2), doi: /
Cummins, J. (1983). Bilingualism and special education: Programs and pedagogical issues. Learning Disability Quarterly, 6(4), Autumn,
Garcia, E. (2007). Education comes in diverse shapes and forms for U.S. bilinguals. In J, Noel, (Ed.), Multicultural Education, 2nd ed New York: McGraw Hill.
Garcia, O. (2008). Bilingual education in the 21st century. West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell.
Helmsley, G., Holm, A., & Dodd, B. (2006). Diverse but not different: The lexical skills of two primary age bilingual groups in comparison to monolingual peers. International Journal of Bilingualism, 10(4) doi: /
Lee, J., & Schallert, D. L. (1997). The relative contribution of L2 language proficiency and L1 reading ability to L2 reading performance: A test of the threshold hypothesis in an EFL context [Electronic version]. TESOL Quarterly
Leung, C. B., Silverman, R., Nandakumar, R., Qian, X., & Hines, S. (2010). A comparison of difficulty levels of vocabulary in first grade basal readers for preschool dual language learners and monolingual English learners [Electronic Version]. American Education Research Journal. doi: /
Potowski, K. (2004). Student Spanish use and investment in a dual language immersion classroom: Implications for second language acquisition and heritage language maintenance. The Modern Language Journal, 88(1), Spring,
Rossell, C. (2002). Dismantling bilingual education implementing English immersion: The California initiative. Public Policy Inst. of California, San Francisco. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED
Slavin, E., & Cheung, A. (2005). A synthesis of research on language of reading instruction for English language learners. Review of Educational Research, 75(2). Summer, doi: /
Tong, V., Lara-Alecio, R., Irby, B., Mathes, P., & Kwok, O. M. (2008). Accelerating early academic oral English development in transitional bilingual and structure English immersion programs. American Educational Research Journal, 45(4), doi: /
Vaughn, S., Linan-Thompson, S., Mathes, P. G., Cirino, P. T., Carlson, C. D., Pollard-Durodola, S. D., Francis, D. J. (2006). Effectiveness of Spanish intervention for first-grade English language learners at risk for reading difficulties. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39(1), doi: /
Winsler, A., Diaz, R., Espinoza, L., Rodriguez, J. (1999). When learning a second language does not mean losing the first: Bilingual language development in low-income, Spanish-speaking children attending bilingual preschool [Electronic version]. Child Development, 70(2)